I cannot recommend Kathy at Cause and Effect Dog Training enough! When we first reached out, our…read moreSpringer Spaniel, Checkers, was fearful, anxious, and often growled at my spouse and sometimes even at our kids. We had already tried multiple trainers, different techniques, and even followed our vet's suggestion to try antidepressants--but nothing was helping (in fact, the medication only made things worse). The moment I spoke to Kathy on the phone, I felt confident she truly understood the problem and could guide us in the right direction. And she absolutely has. Over the past year, Checkers has made tremendous progress thanks to Kathy's knowledge, patience, and the clear guidance she gave us. We followed her suggestions carefully--even switching vets based on her recommendation--and the results have been life-changing. Earlier this year, we had to travel out of the country and trusted Kathy to board Checkers. During that time, he developed a beautiful bond with her partner Dan. This was nothing short of amazing, as Checkers has always been fearful of men. Watching their relationship grow has been such a gift. With Kathy's help (and the influence of her own two balanced dogs), Checkers has learned how to be a dog--something I once thought might never happen. He now participates in pack walks and can even run off-leash in the fields, something I couldn't have imagined a year ago. If you're struggling with your dog's behavior and feel like nothing is working, do yourself and your dog a favor and call Kathy. She and Dan have changed our lives, and I am endlessly grateful for the care and dedication they've shown to Checkers and to us.

Kathy had great techniques and homework for me and my husband. She was punctual in every session…read moreand gave us constructive feedback. I really think having the training sessions with Kathy helped us bond with our dog more. It was a really rewarding experience. I absolutely feel more confident about my communication skills towards our girl Cub. Thank you for helping us work with her Kathy!!

I brought my two, small adopted dogs in for a bath, I usually bathe them at home. I mentioned that…read morethey're pretty itchy even though they don't have fleas. Carmina said something like she would use a special shampoo and a lavender spray. I agreed. There was no mention of the $20 up charge for "specialty shampoo"?! ($10 per dog plus a $6 "materials fee" per dog.) It would be nice to give the customer the option to decide if they want to pay more. I have one female and one male. They came out with the same bandana. I was expecting a bow in my girl's hair but this is minor; maybe they ran out or something.. Carmina seems nice and they were ready in two hours as quoted. The price for two dogs to get a bath and blowdry was over $100! I'll go back to doing it myself and just bring them for nail trims and anal gland maintenance.

Petco must STOP SELLING ANIMALS. Animals are suffering and dying becasue corportations like Petco…read morewant to make money on their lives. I just visited this Petco in El Cerrito and it was horrifying. I counted over 20 dead and dying gols fish, betta fish languishing in a tiny cups, and a mouse who is very sick and likely going to die. I asked them if I could please take her to a vet and they refused. Their apathy to her suffering is digusting. Stores like Petco that sell animals for profit do not care about animals. The only good thing about Petco is that they host cat adoptions with local rescue organizations on weekends. But why promote rescue and adoption for some animals, while supporting the cruel breeding and exploitation of other species like rodents, reptiles, fish, and birds?

Mickey is awesome, she gave the best customer service experience I have ever received . I will…read moredefinitely be coming back!

This store was responsible for delivering our online order of $70 of dog food via Pet Food Express…read moreand it never arrived. The store did not tell us that they use DoorDash, who never contacted us about the delivery, so it either didn't arrive or was stolen. The manager at this store would not replace the order so we were out $70. DO NOT ORDER DELIVERY FROM PET FOOD EXPRESS.

I adopted an abandoned and neglected working breed dog, and despite working with dogs myself for…read moremany years, wanted some more assistance with her. Who do dog pros go to when they need to consult with someone for their tough cases? Alex at Waggology! In a short time this stressed and tuned out dog has become happy, goofy, obedient, and focused, all while being respected and treated with kindness. Alex really thinks outside the box and takes his time with you to build a foundation that will help with any obstacle you and your dog may face. The relationship and trust that results from his methods are definitely worth it. I couldn't be more pleased!

Given that we are shelter in place and there is more time to work with our foster dog. With that…read moresaid we had him pretty much potty trained and crate trained in less than 1.5 weeks. The dog also knows sit and come and we are more than 1/2 way with stay! Pretty much says it all! Amazing amazing amazing. Alex is super smart, knows his stuff and answers all of of crazy questions. If you want a well behaved dog, call him you won't be disappointed! Note though you have to put all of his suggestions to work and stick with it. Will be well worth it in the end!

I would give 500 stars instead of 5 stars if I could. My young, rambunctious Great Dane Otis and I…read moreLOVED the BravoPup class run by Anna Carlson. We took her Dog 1 and Dog 2 classes in Rockridge. Anna's methods are totally fun, totally force free - and they totally work! We had been having trouble with Otis's recall and after only our first 2 classes Otis had a super solid recall - seriously, wild horses couldn't keep him away when he hears his recall word. Anna later helped me with private sessions acclimating my older dog to a new rescue dog. It was miraculous how quickly and effectively Anna was able to diffuse the situation and get my older dog to be calm and relaxed in the presence of the new dog. Anna really knows what she's doing and it's obvious she has a special talent for reading dogs and figuring out stress free ways to guide them into the behavior we want. Updates to follow - I'm so impressed with Anna, we'll do more private sessions to help me continue to improve the behavior and happiness of my 3 Danes. PS: Check out this photo showing how happy Otis is with his off leash time now that he can be trusted to come back.

Out of all the dog trainers I have gone to with all my dogs, Bravopup is the best place! The owner,…read moreSandi is super informative and she can really tell you more about your dog and what struggles she sees while you're at the training. My dog Kaya has gone through many classes at Bravopup and has even completed her canine good citizenship class there! Sandi really ensures success with you and your pup. I would highly recommend trying this dog training out and see for yourself why everyone here on yelp gives this place 5 stars!

Gusty us AMAZING!!!!! We saw great results after just 1 session and learn tons with each followup…read more If you keep up with her lessons you should see great behavioral improvement and management. Our dog was already amazing, but Gusty helped with the transition of our older rehomed puppy to our family. Something to note about the Bark Busters philosophy- it uses positive reinforcement with solid results...and also acknowledges that your dog is still going to be your dog. Their personality is their personality... so they teach you how to work with the dog that you have instead of the dog that you think you should have.

Their 'training' is entirely anchored on fear-inducing techniques. We were given a contraption that…read moregenerates a harsh noise, and my dog was visibly terrified every time the trainer used it on her. All this while they constantly reassured us all their techniques are based on positive reinforcement - what kind of positive reinforcement is centered around fear?! It gnaws at us that we ever decided to go with this service. My dog - and every dog - deserves better.

We've been with El Perrito for 8 years and couldn't have asked for a more loving and healing…read moreenvironment for our sweet rescue pup. In Kat's care, she has blossomed into a much more playful girl in the pup community. Kat is reliable and great to work with! Couldn't recommend El Perrito more!

Life got hectic…read more.. We love our dogs and try to get out with them as much as we can. Regulars in the neighborhood and frequent Point Isabelle along with some weekend adventures a couple times a month. We started to fall a little behind for reasons I think we could all relate. El Perrito Dog Walks provided a great solution. We've tried other walkers that offered far less for the similar price. We had an introduction meeting and Melissa, who took the time to discuss practices with our pups and her approach. Our hound and puppy ridgie have plenty of idiosyncrasies and Melissa was very understanding. They use an app (can do it old school of you prefer) that makes it really easy. Put your info in and pick your times. Super straight forward. After an introductory walk we joined the pack! Today we came home after our second walk and not too long after the usual excitable greeting, barky bark and the spunky bunch were toast. Thanks Melissa! WE are most appreciative. Definitely recommend.

I am writing a negative review about Metro Dog. I initially reached out to them for boarding…read morebecause I am traveling for vacation week. About two or three weeks ago, they scheduled me for an initial assessment, where they would assess my dog and figure out the best place to put him. I told them my dog is very vocal but that is normal for his breed (hes a husky). The assessment went great, my dog did very well, and he stayed there for half a day. Additionally, I was told to get him the canine influenza vaccine, which I did. The week after, I scheduled him for doggy daycare to get him used to it. The visit went well. They told me that my dog did great. He was vocal at the beginning, but he settled in. I said great. Nothing else was said to the contrary. The week of my vacation, I check the portal. It said my dog was still on the boarding waitlist. I called to confirm that he would be boarded and checked to see if they saw his updated vaccine record. They placed me on hold for a while until the man who did the initial assessment came on. He informed me, much to my surprise, that since my dog is still anxious (he barks, which is his normal), they would not be able to board him until he has a few more visits. I am very disappointed at Metro Dog. I feel like my time and money were utterly wasted. I followed their protocol and got my dog used to this place, and they declined my boarding request at the last minute. I now have to scramble and see if I can find another boarder for vacation. I am also very disappointed at the lack of communication. If I had not called them to check, I would not have known that he was declined. I received no indication that he would not be able to board by Metro Dog. I wanted to love this place but I am so good on Metro Dog. I hope this review can help others and push this place to be more communicative, honest, and upfront with fellow clients and their fur babies.

So happy we found this place. It's a great place for dogs her buddy really enjoys it and it has…read morebeen a good experience for social time and also looking forward to boarding when travel, great staff and location moderate prices.

I found Brian when I began looking into e-collar training for my reactive dog. I wanted to make…read moresure I introduced the collar correctly so that it was as effective as possible, and Brian was a massive help. Before finding Brian, I struggled with getting my dog (Rumo) to heel, and he's recall was nonexistent. He's a shikoku, a primitive breed similar to the shiba inu, and they are notoriously difficult to fully off-leash train. With Brian's guidance, Rumo now understands communication through the e-collar, and overall taking a balanced approach has had a positive effect on our relationship because he better understands what behaviors I want from him. He's also heeling incredibly well both on and off leash. And last weekend during a camping trip, Rumo was off leash the majority of the time. I was able to recall him despite strange people and dogs walking by, and even called him off a rabbit - pretty amazing for a high prey-drive dog! I absolutely love Brian's approach, and he's extremely thorough in making sure his clients expectations are reasonable.

I found Brian with a Google search for trainers specializing in e-collars…read more Our puppy is a lab / pit bull mix that is sweet, smart, and determined. I started researching electric collars because I believe that a combination of plenty of positive reinforcement, coupled with a small amount of correction, is the best way to train a dog. I'm finding that the e-collar is a gentle way to guide her to the behavior we are looking for, like to come when called. It is a lot more flexible than, for example, a corrective pinch / choke collar that only works with a leash, and is a lot more difficult to control in terms of the level of correction. Brian's training approach starts with identifying the dog's state of mind, e.g., is she playful, confused, rebellious, etc. and working from there. I've already started to learn to use the collar in an effective and humane way, and after just 4 sessions, we've had great results with our puppy. She is already behaving much better on-leash (no more leash biting and tugging) and the off-leash walking is also going quite well. I've also valued the fact that Brian focuses on what I want, that is, to have a good quality of life with the dog. It isn't all about asserting my dominance, or having her do a perfect "sit". It is more about being able to spend time together safely, off-leash, without her running into the street or after another dog. Finally, I should mention that Brian provided a no-commitment consultation upfront, where he shared his training philosophy for around 45 minutes before we got started. You have absolutely nothing to lose in doing the consultation, at the very least you can hear about the approach, and if you are curious, see what the e-collar feels like on your arm.

We had adopted our Kody boy 8 months ago from a shelter. It was a very hard five months trying to…read moreget him settled with a routine. We all had different ways of how to train him and it was causing a rift in the family. I was turned down by some trainers until I came across Jonathan Wong's page. He was local, he was fast to get back to me and he was willing to give us a chance after everything I told him. Kody still has a long way to go and I will continue with Jonathan as his trainer, but it is night and day after three months of training with Jonathan. He was dog and people aggressive, to the point we had to avoid them entirely. We can now go for walks, albeit we move opposite of any dog and can keep walking without any barking or pulling. He was always actively pulling on the leash and bad at recall. He is loose leashed now and responds with recall with our daughter. In the end I had to get use to the idea that Kody was a crate or muzzle dog when it came to large crowds or people in our home. I felt awful but Jonathan was so supportive and positive as I came to terms with it. I hope as we continue to train with Jonathan and Kody builds his confidence that soon things might change for him. Jonathan has such a kind soul and so encouraging when it comes to both us and Kody. I cannot thank Jonathan enough for what he has done for us. He left solid foundations for us to grow on. Kody is such a sweet and smart boy, and we always want the best for him. Jonathan truly is the best.

Jonathan was very, very good. My spouse and I found a puppy not to far from our house. The pup was…read morehiding in a bush and upon pulling him out and knocking on various doors, posting on social media, and check if he was chipped, we concluded someone had just left this pup. After deciding to keep him and not knowing anything about dog training, we decided to look for some formal training classes. The group class at PetCo did not fair too well so private lessons were the next step, We had one assessment lesson and four lessons afterwards. The things we learned, the questions Jonathan was able to answer were all fantastic. The pup is about a year old now and if we did not have formal training, who knows what state his behavior will be. We are very grateful for the time, care, and lessons we were given to help train our dog and perhaps look forward to a couple more lessons here and there.